Ancient Apollonia Pontica (present-day Sozopol, Bulgaria) is one of the earliest towns on the Western Black Sea coast. The city was founded by Milesian colonists at the end of the 7th century BCE. As a result of intensive trade with the surrounding Thracian tribes and the Greek poleis Apollonia became one of the richest and most prosperous Greek colonies in the Black Sea region in Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic period. It was famous in the Ancient World for the colossal bronze statue of Apollo – the patron deity of the town, erected in front of the god’s temple. The excavation team lead by Dr. Krastina Panayotova conducts excavation on the small St. Kirik island (connected with the mainland with a breakwater way), where the earliest settlement of Apollonia arose and where later the sacred precinct (temenos) of the town was built.